You may also register by contacting the WSBA Service Center at 800-945-WSBA or 206-443-WSBA.We hope to see you there! Thanks to the Foster Pepper firm and WPTL member Kelly Angell for the generous offer of this space.

Volunteer Opportunity

WSBA's Task Force on Escalating Cost of Civil Litigation has been chartered by the Board of Governors with assessing the current cost of civil litigation in Washington state courts and making recommendations on controlling costs. The Task Force is seeking input from affected lawyers, judges, and others while developing any recommendations.

WPTL is one of nine sections invited to participate on its Discovery Subcommittee, and therefore needs a Section member to volunteer. The time commitment is 4-5 hours per month. If you are interested please contact Russ Aoki, chair of the ECCL Task Force at russ@aokilaw.com.

Section News

Elections

The votes having been tallied and the results are in:

Chair-Elect: Randy Winn

Secretary-Treasurer: Paul Schlossman

Executive Committee: Elizabeth Walter, Lisa von Trotha.

Thanks to the Elections Committee for their work!

Emily Hahn, WYLD Liaison

The Executive Committee welcomes Emily Hahn as Section liaison with Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD). Emily has a general litigation practice in Seattle. Among her experiences with law and peace was a summer interning at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office in Cape Town, South Africa for the Summer of 2010, managing legal and human rights concerns of refugees, rape and assault victims, and victims of xenophobic attacks. Welcome Emily! We hope WPTL and WYLD will work together productively!

Recommended Reading

Robin Lindley,former Section chair, recently interviewed Ambassador David Scheffer,the lead architect of the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc war crimes tribunals for Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Cambodia. The full interview includes comments on the checkered history of US participation in these tribunals and is published as"America's Sadly Ambiguous Role in Prosecuting War Crimes"in Crosscuts.

Marti Schmidt, another former Section chair, draws our attention to "Indigenous Peoples Walk Out Of WIPO Committee On Genetic Resources.".It reports that the International Indigenous Forum withdrew from the discussions of the WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources in February, stating that as the "titleholders, proprietors and ancestral owners of traditional knowledge that is inalienable, nonforfeitable and inherent to the generic resources that we have conserved and utilized in a sustainable manner within our territories, ... the discussion on intellectual property rights and genetic resources should include Indigenous Peoples on equal terms with the States since the work will directly impact our lives, our lands, our territories and resources." Under the current rules of procedures, Indigenous Peoples have only observer status in the discussions; they can make proposals to the negotiations but those proposals have to be endorsed by at least one delegation to be taken into account, and one of their complaints is that they have been ignored even so.

Join Sylvie Charles, a French-American lawyer, as she unfolds the intricacies and complexities of the French legal system. This CLE, from WSBA's International Practice Section, will discuss the pros and cons of doing business in France, as well as provide practical tips and insights to practitioners on how to successfully navigate the French business market.

This is a publication of a section of the Washington State Bar Association. All opinions and comments represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by WSBA, its officers or agents.